2002 in video gaming
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Contents
Events[edit | edit source]
- Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Will Wright of Maxis to the AIAS Hall of Fame
- BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) holds 5th annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards for multimedia technologies; 10 of 21 awards go to video games; awards Ian Livingstone the BAFTA Interactive Special Award
- Big Fish Games is founded with Paul Thelen as the only employee.
- 8th annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo); the 5th annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E³
- Eidos Interactive selects Dutch model Jill De Jong as the new digitized Lara Croft character
- G4 Media, LLC (subsidiary of Comcast Corporation) launches the G4 cable television video game network channel
- Gama Network hosts the 4th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF)
- Game Developers Conference hosts the 2nd annual Game Developers Choice Awards
- SEGA establishes the Sega Mobile division to develop, produce, and distribute video games for mobile phones and PDAs; establishes the Sega.com Business Solutions division to service video game developers and publishers
- Rockstar Games embroiled in controversy for its Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City video games
- March 22 — The Sims overtakes Myst as all-time best-selling computer game, having sold 6.3 million units
- July - IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) hosts 3rd annual Executive Summit
Business[edit | edit source]
- January 2 – Cyberactive Media, publishers of GameWeek, is closed down.
- February 19 — Sierra Entertainment, Inc. renamed from Sierra On-Line
- May 10 — Tiwak renamed from Yeti Interactive
- November 15 — Xbox Live, the largest online network for video game consoles is launched.
- November 26 — Squaresoft and Enix announces a fusion. The new name is Square Enix.
- Activision acquires Luxoflux Corporation, Gray Matter Interactive Studios, Shaba Games LLC, and Z-Axis Ltd.
- Empire Interactive PLC acquires eJay AG (renamed eJay Entertainment GmbH)
- Infogrames Entertainment SA acquires Eden Studios and Shiny Entertainment
- Microsoft acquires Rare Ltd.
- PCCW: Jaleco USA merges with its VR1 Entertainment (renamed Jaleco Entertainment) division
- Sony Corporation acquires Aiwa Corporation
- Vivendi Universal acquires Massive Entertainment
- Bankrupt/Defunct: Encore Software, Inc. (assets acquired by Navarre Corporation)
- .400 Software Studios founded
- Realtime Worlds Founded by David Jones
Notable releases[edit | edit source]
North American release dates:
- February 22 - Jet Set Radio Future (Xbox)
- March 4 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (GBA, Xbox)
- March 26 - Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (PC)
- March 31 - Dungeon Siege (PC)
- April 30 - Resident Evil Remake (GC)
- May 2 - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC)
- May 16 - Final Fantasy XI (Japan) (PS2)
- May 20 - Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix (PC)
- June 1 - The House of the Dead III (Arcade)
- June 6 - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Xbox)
- June 16 - Neverwinter Nights (PC)
- July 3 - Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (PC)
- August 19 - Medieval: Total War (PC)
- August 25 - Super Mario Sunshine (GC)
- August 25 - Super Monkey Ball 2 (GC)
- August 27 - SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs (PS2)
- August 28 - Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven (PC)
- September 10 - Battlefield 1942 (PC)
- September 15 - Animal Crossing (GC)
- September 17 - Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
- September 23 - Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (PS2)
- September 23 - Tekken 4 (PS2)
- September 30 - No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way (PC)
- October 9 - TimeSplitters 2 (PS2)
- October 22 - Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (Xbox)
- October 27 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2)
- November 1 - Age of Mythology (PC)
- November 4 - Ratchet & Clank (PS2)
- November 6 - The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal (PC)
- November 10 - Resident Evil 0 (GC)
- November 11 - MechAssault (Xbox)
- November 15 - Metroid Prime (GC)
- November 18 - Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (GC)
- November 18 - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (Xbox)
- November 20 - Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (PS2, Xbox, GBA)
- December 13 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Japan) (GC)
Top Selling games in the US[edit | edit source]
| No. | Name | Platform | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | PS2 | Rockstar Games |
| 2 | Grand Theft Auto III | PS2 | Rockstar Games |
| 3 | Madden NFL 2003 | PS2 | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | Super Mario Advance 2 | GBA | Nintendo |
| 5 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PS2 | Sony |
| 6 | Medal of Honor: Frontline | PS2 | Electronic Arts |
| 7 | Spider-Man: The Movie | PS2 | Activision |
| 8 | Kingdom Hearts | PS2 | Squaresoft |
| 9 | Halo: Combat Evolved | Xbox | Microsoft |
| 10 | Super Mario Sunshine | GameCube | Nintendo |
Video game releases[edit | edit source]
| Name | Release Date | Category | Region(s) | Platform(s)
Lua error: Error: Table Games not found.. |
Hardware releases[edit | edit source]
| Name | Release Date | Category | Region(s) |
| GameCube | May 3, 2002 | Home Console | Europe |
| Pokémon Mini | March 15, 2002 | Microconsole | Europe |
| Xbox | March 14, 2002 | Home Console | Europe |
| Xbox | February 22, 2002 | Home Console | Japan |
